Hopper-oak



E. D. HILLMAN.

HOPPER CAR.

APPLICATION HLED DEQ. 7. 191a.

Patented July 1, 1919. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- l/VVENTOR f/zwa J fizz/WW 3 w, E W. W

"ATTORNEY E. D. HILLMAN.

HOPPER CAR.

APPLICATION E ILED DEC. 1. I915.

Patented July 1, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WITNESSES:

(LL ATTORNEY THE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH (10., wAsHINGTnNv D. u.

E. D. HILLMAN.

HOPPER CAR.

APPLICATION FILED 050.7.1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Q3 m) J INVENTOR fbmwa fl ///z4 MAI? I By Zi'm/MU Patented July 1, 1919.

EDWARD n. HILLMAN, or LAnoHMoNnnEW YORK,

assreuoa To EENJAMINA.

I-IEGEMAN, JUNIOR, or NORTH PLAINFIELID, NEW JERSEY.

HOPPER-GAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 1919.

Application filed December 7, 1915. Serial No. 65,462.

To riZZ'w/mme't may-concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD D.HILL1\TAN, a citizen of the United Stateaanda resident of Larchmont, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Hopper-Cars, of which the follow ing is a specification. y The invention relates to improvements in hopper ears and its purpose 'is to provide suitable mechanism whereby the doors ofthe cars may be conveniently opened from either side thereof. In hjoppercars it is customary to have the door operating and locking mechanisms at one side of the car, and this has resulted in considerable inconvenience in many cases. It is not always convenient to, open the doors of a car from one side only thereof, since the conditions may be such that the door operating mechanism can only be gotten at withdifliculty and even danger. It is also the case that frequently these cars are coupled together in trains without regard to the location on the cars of the door operating mechanisms, and this results that in a train of carssome of the hopper door operating mechanisms are at one side of the train on some cars and at the other sideof the train on other cars.

Inaccordance with my invention it is unimportant how the cars are arranged in the train, since my invention provides means whereby from either side of the car the door operating shaft may be unlocked and said shaft thereafter turned to throwthe doors to open position. The mechanism of my invention also permits of the closing of the doors of the cars from either side of the car.

I present my invention herein as embodied in a hopper car of the general character disclosed in LettersPatent of the United States No. 806,862, John McE. Ames, ranted December 12, 1905, to Benjamin A. Hegenv-an, J12, as assign'ee, but I- do not desire to be limited to the details disclosed in said patent and shown in the accompanying drawings, since other formsof' door operating mechanism are well known andmay be substituted for the mechanism of the aforesaid patent.

My invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference beinf had to the accompanying drawings, in Wn ch: V y i Figure 3. a side elevation, parttvhrnhen away, of one of the hoppers of the car, the door for such hopperbeing shown in its closed position and locked;

Fig; 2 is a transverse section, partly brokenaway, through the car, taken on the dotted-line 2-2 of Fig.1, two of the hoppers and the door operating mechanism being illustrated;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, away and on a larger car hoppers equipped with the operating and locking means of my invention, the solid lines denoting the position of the parts when the door is in closed position and SOIRO of the dotted lines illustrating the operated position of the locking dog and crank arm;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation, partly broken away, of one of the hoppers having, applied to the inclined hopper sheet a supporting bracket for the mechanism of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a detachedview on a larger scale showing the supporting bracket for the i'i'iechanism of my invention, Fig. ofbeing taken from theinner side of said bracket and showing the shafts, left in the bracket, in end view;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the dotted line 6-6 of Fig. 3 of a portion of the mechan sm embodying my invention, the shaft being shown as partly broken away, and

F 1g. is a section taken on the dotted partly broken scale, of one of the ;line 77 of Fig. 3 and partly broken away,

showing the mechanism of my invention.

In the drawings, 10 designates portions of the usual hoppers embodied in hopper cars, 11 the inclined or bottom sheets of said hop pers, 12 a usual type of hinged discharge doors or gates for said hoppers, and 13 a bar connecting said doors in pairs so that the doors for two side by side hoppers may be opened and closed simultaneously; The doors 12 are operated by means of a wrench, not shown, applied by the attendant to the end of an operating shaft 14 which extends transversely across the car below a pair of hoppers 1.0 and is exposed at both ends at th sides of the carand at said ends is squared off so as to conveniently receive awrench when it isdesired that theshaft be operated. The shaft 14 has crank arms 15 secured to it andthese cralikarms are connected by a link 16 with an e e-bolt 17 secured to the middle portion of tie bar or beam 13. The shaft 14: t its central portion recessed, as atlS,

tr at wear the iii are in closed post require.

r'able castings and comprise a top plate 26, an outer Vertical plate 27 and a brace plate tion,'the center of the pin 19 at the upper end of the link 16 may be below a center line 'extendingthrough the center of the shaft 1 1 and pin. 20 at the upper end of the eye-bolt 17, this relation of the pa ts serving to lock the doors 12 in closed position. The arms 15, link 16, beam 13 and crank arms 15, to gether with theoflset 18 in the shaft 1%, are disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent No. 806,862 and are therefore not separately claimed herein, being presented herein merely for the purpose of illustrating an operative mechanismembodying my invention. The shaft '14- in this instance extends entirely across the car and is exposed at both ends so that an operator may apply a wrench to either end of said shaft as occasion may The shaft 14E adjacent to theinner hopper sheets is equipped with bushings 21 .which are mounted in bearings 22 secured .to the hopper sheets, these bushings being provided to facilitate the rotary movement of the angular shaft during the opening and closing of the doors.

The outer end portions of the shaft 14 are equipped with bushings 23 (Figs. 5 and 7) and these bushings are mounted in bearings 24; provided in brackets 25 which are secured to the inclined floors or lower sheets of. thehop'pers 10. The brackets 25 are du- 28 extending from said top plate on an outward inclination to abearing hub 29 for an auxiliary shaft 30. The brackets 25 are each in one integral piece and offer suitable and eflicient bearings for the ends of the shafts 14, 30.. The transverse shaft 14: differs from other operating shafts employed in hopper cars by reason of being mounted at its outer ends at the opposite sides of the car and exposed at said ends to receive a wrench or other tool for turning it. It will be understood that when the shaft 15% is turned in one direction, or counter clockwise looking at Fig. 1, it will turn the crank arms 15 upwardly and inwardly toward the discharge end of the hoppers and cause the link 16 to press the doors 12toward their open position, and that'when the shaft 14: is reversed in motion it will turn the crank arms 15 upwardly and toward the right, looking at Fig. 1, and thereby cause the link 16 and beam 13 to draw the doors 12 to their closed position, that being the position in which the doors are shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It is customary to provide manually operative locking means for locking the shaft 14: against rotation when the doors 12 are in their closed position, so that said doors may not by any possibility beopened during the travel of the car by jarring action which may be imparted to them, as explained in the aforesaid Patent h s. In the pres ent instance i provide novel mechanism for locking the operating shaft 11 against unintended rotation, and this mechanism comprises the shaft 30. which extends transversely across the car below the hopper sheets and is mounted in bearings 29 of the rackets 25, the c 'ank arms 31 mounted on said shaft 30 adjacent to each end thereof, pivoted pawlarins 32 having a loose connection withthe lower ends of said crank arms 31 and toothed locking plates or wheels 33 rigidly mounted on the shaft 11 and adapted to be engaged by the pawl arms 32. T The shaft 30 is preferably rectangular in cross-section. and of less diameter than the operating shaft 14, less strength being required in the shaft 30 than in the shaft 11 and it being desirable that as little unnecessary weight as possible may enter into the mechanism. The shaft 30 is exposed at its outer ends at opposite sides of the car and by reason of said shaft being of less diameter than the shaft ll, 1 apply upon the outer ends of said shaft rectangular sleeves (Fig. so as to give said shaft at its ends the same dimensions as the ends of the shaft let, this being for the purpose of enabling an operator to apply the same wrench or other tool to either of said shafts, thus saving the necessity of carrying about a second tool for operating the shaft 30. The sleeves may be cast in one piece with the crank arms 31 and cylindrical bushings adapted to the bearings 29 of the brackets 25, as I illustrate in Fig. (3. The crank arms 31 are two in number at each side of the car, as shown in Fig. 4, and these two crank arms with the sleeves 34 and bushings 35 may be conveniently cast in one integral piece and quite conveniently slipped upon the ends of the rectangular auxiliary shaft 30. 1 form the frames comprising the sleeves 34, bushings 35 and crank arms 31 with peripheral shoulders 36, the inner ones of which afford stops to engage the brackets 25 and the outer ones of which co-iiperating with the inner shoulders form grooves to receive portions of the pawl or dog arms 32. The crank arms 31, 31, being in pairs at each side of the car, receive between them at each side of the car the lower portion of a pawl or dog arm 32, said portion being formed with a slot 37 and a bolt 38 at the lower ends of said crank arms 31 being extended through said slot, whereby the pawl or dog arms 32 become connected with the crank arms 31 by what may be termed a loose connection, permitting the pawl or dog arms to be turned outwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 when said crank arms are turned outwardly and upwardly by means of a wrench or other tool applied to the shaft 30. The slots 3? also permit the crank-arms 1 to carry the bolts :38 inwardly beyond :1 at line dram-11:through the shaft 80 and he tl herei rafter inentiomad, and this re Mill against movement in the elosedposition lation and proportion-of the parts serve to tend to lock said arms 31 and shaft 30 of the car door or doors 12.

The pawl or dog arms 32, one being at each side of the car, are pivotally secured at their upper ends on bolts 39 extending through the same and the sides of the brackets 25, and said pawl or dog arms are substantial castings and formed with a projection or teeth 10 and with a curved intermediate portion adapted to, in part, encircle the frame comprising the features 31, Set, 35 hereinbefore referred to and enter between the shoulders 36 on said frame. The lower end portion of the pawl or dog arms 32 is substantially straight and contains the slot 37 aforesaid.

The plates or wheels 33 which are rigid. on the ends of the shaft It may be termed ratchet plates or wheels and they are formed with a tooth 41 and preferably with a smaller teeth 12, although the entire operation of the mechanism may be performed with the presence of the one tooth -11 on each ratchet plate 38. When the crank arms 31, pawl or dog arms 32 and ratchet, plates 33 are in the relation illustrated in Fig. 3, the doors 12 will be in closed position and the shaft 1-1: will, by the engagement of the teeth 40 of the pawl or dog arms 32 with the teeth 41 of the ratchet plates 33, be locked against unintended rotation in a direction tending to open the doors 12. When it is desired to release the shaft 14 so that a wrench or other tool applied thereto may be utilized to turn said shaftin a direction to effect-the opening of the doors 12, the at tendant will apply his wrench or other tool to one end or the other of the shaft 30 and turn said shaft counter clockwise so as to carry the c an]: arms 31 outwardly and upwardly and move the pawl or dog arms 32 from engagement with the ratchet wheels or plates 33 or to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and thereupon the attendant will remove his wrench or other tool from the end of the shaft 30 and apply it to the end of the shaft 14 and turn said shaft counter clockwise as hereinbefore explained for effecting the opening of the doors from said shaft through the intermediate mechanism composed, in the present instance, of the crank arms 15 link 16, eye'bolt 17 and beam 13. When it desired to close the doors 12, the attendant may impart a reverse rotation to the shaft 30 so as to cause the dog or pawl arms 32 to hang by gravity against the ratchet wheels 33, and thereupon he'may apply his wrench or other tool to an end of the shaft 14 and then turn the same to effect the closing of the doors 12. The entra teeth 42 are provided on the ratchet wheels 33 so that during the closing of the deorsy the attendant in using his/wreath or tool onrotating the shaft 14: may rotate said shaft a definite distance sufficient for the teeth as to ride downwardly against the pawl-teeth 40 and thereby turn the arms outwardly until said teeth 42 pass below said teeth d0, whereupon the arn'is 32 will swing by gravity against the plates 33 and carry the teeth =10 above the teeth 4-2 in a position adapting them to be engaged by said teeth 12 on the operator releasing his grip on the wrench or tool he was using to rotate the shaft 14, he then relying upon the engagement of said pawl or dog arms with the teeth. to hold the doors 12 in the position they may have then attained. The operator may then readjust his wrench or tool 011 the 1 end of the shaft 14. for completing that rotation of the shaft necessary to complete the closing of the doors 12, or in other words take a fresh grip on the shaft 14 to facilitate its complete movement in the closing directionof the doors. The engagement of the teeth 40 on the arms 32 with the teeth L2 on the ratchet plates 33 will hold the shaft 40 and doors 12 in the position they then may have attained, and thereupon the operator may complete the movement of said shaft and plates-33 5c bring the teeth 41 of said plates in position to be engaged by the teeth 41-0. of said pawl or dog arms. The presence of the teeth 4.2 on the ratchet plates 33 is a mere matter of convenience to the operator and not essential to the main features of my invention. l

The shaft30 may be utilized from either side of the car for freeing the shaft 1 1 to operate and this is afeature of material importance, since one of the purposes of this invention is to permit of the opening and closing of the doors 12 from either side of the car Each end of the shaft 30 is equipped with a crank arm or crankarms U1 and at each side ofthe car there is provided a pawl or looking dog 32 to be operated by the shaft 30. The shaft 14 is operable from either side of the car and upon each end portion of said shaft, there is a ratchet plate 33 for cooperation with a locking pawl or dog arm .32. The operating shaft 14 may therefore be very effectually locked in closedlposition by the pawl ordog arms 32 and may with convenience be operated from either side of the car, first by freeing the pawl f or dog arms from ratchet wheels or plates33 and then by turning the shaft 1 tin a direction to effect the opening of thedoors 12. The shaft 30 may beeperated from either side of the car and likewise the shaft lat may be operated from either side of the car, and at both sides of the car are provided suitable mechanism for locking the shaft 1 1; against unintended rotation. 1 i

I refer to i irovide the ratchet plates IJMH at dogarma name its 31%. at hath 1 sides of the car so as to avoid twisting strain on the shafts 14, 30, but with less advantage said parts may only be applied at one side er the car so long as said shafts are exposed for operation at both sides of the car.

My invention is not limited to details of 7 form or construction further than the appended claims may require.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. In a car having a. discharge door, a door operating shaft extending transversely entirely across the car and operable from either end thereof, mechanism intermediate said shaft and door, an auxiliary shaft parallel with said operating shaft and also ex-- tending transversely entirely across the car and operable from either end thereof, means at each end of said operating shaft for looking said shaft in the closed position of the door comprising a toothed plate on each end of said shaft and a movable dog to engage the same at each side of the car, and means on both ends of said auxiliary shaft for releasing said dogs from said plates on the rotation of said auxiliary shaft.

2. In a hopper car having a hinged dis charge door, a door operating shaft and mechanism intermediate said shaft and door for effecting the opening and closing of the door from said shaft, an auxiliary shaft, means for locking said operating shaft in the closed position of the door comprising a toothed plate on said shaft and a pivoted pawl or dog arm to engage the same, and means for releasing said arm from said plate on the rotation of said auxiliary shaft comprising a crank on said auxiliary shaft having a loose connection with said arm, said arm being slotted at its lower end and said crank carrying a bolt extending through said slot.

3. In a hopper car having hinged discharge doors, a door operating shaft and mechanism intermediate said shaft and doors for effecting the opening and closing of the doors from said shaft, said shaft being extended across the car to receive at either end a suitable operating tool, an auxiliary shaft extending across the car to receive at either end an operating tool, means for locking said operating shaft in the closed position of the doors comprising a toothed plate on said shaft and a pivoted pawl or dog arm to engage the same, and

' means for releasing said arm from said plate on the rotation of said auxiliary shaft comprising a crank on said auxiliary shaft having a loose connection with said arm.

4:. In a hopper car having hinged discharge doors, a door operating shaft and mechanism intermediate said shaft and doors fer effecting the opening and closing ef the fire-m said shaft, said shaft assess the ear tn receive either end a suitable ol ierating tool, an auxiliary shaft extending across the car to receive at either end an operating tool, means for locking said operating shaft in the closed position of the doors comprising a toothed plate on said shaft and a pivoted pawl or dog arm to engage the same, and means for releasing said arm from said plate on the rotation of said auxiliary shaft comprising a crank on said auxiliary shaft having a loose connection with said arm, said arm being slotted at its lower end and said crank carrying a bolt extending through said slot.

5. In a hopper car having hinged discharge-doors, a door operating shaft and mechanism intermediate said shaft and doors for effecting the opening and closing of the doors from said shaft, said shaft being extended across the car to receive at either end a suitable operating tool, an auxiliary shaft extending across the car to receive at either end an operating tool, means at both sides of the car for locking said operating shaft in the closed position of the doors comprising toothed plates on said shaft and pawl arms to engage the same, and means for releasing said arms from said plates on the rotation of said auxiliary shaft comprising cranks 011 both ends of said auxiliary shaft having a loose connection with said arms.

6. In a car having a discharge door, a door operating shaft operable from either end thereof and mechanism intermediate said shaft and door for effecting the open ing and closing of the door from said shaft, an auxiliary shaft parallel with said operating shaft and operable from either end thereof, means at each end of said operating shaft for locking said shaft in the closed. position of the door comprising a toothed plate on each end of said shaft and movable dogs to engage the same at each side of the car, and means for releasing said dogs from said plates on the rotation of said auxiliary shaft comprising cranks on the ends of said auxiliary shaft and members pivotally connecting the same with said dogs, and said members being slidable on one of said parts to afford a loose connection of said dogs with said cranks.

7. In a car having a discharge door, a door operating shaft operable from either end thereof and mechanism intermediate said shaft and door for effecting the opening and closing of the door from said shaft, an auxiliary shaft parallel with said operating shaft and operable from either end thereof, means at each end of said operating shaft for locking said shaft in the closed position of the door and means for releasing said shaft to be rotated for opening said deer comprising cranks on the ends of said auxiiiary shaft, members pivotally connecting said cranks with the locking means for said operating shaft, said members being slidable on one ofsaid parts to afl'ord a loose connection of said cranks with said locking means and said cranks being adapted to releasably lock said operating shaft in the closed position of the door.

8. In a door operating mechanism, the

combination with an operating shaft, of means associated with each end of the shaft for locking the same, an auxiliary shaft operable from either end, and means extending between said auxiliary shaft at each end and said first named means for moving the latter to release position.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 6th EDWARD D. HILLMAN.

day of December, A, D. 1915.

Witnesses:

AnTI-Inn MARION, CHAs. C. GILL.

'Uopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the ifiommiss ioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

